Coming to electronics stores to choose a tablet, we constantly hear from sellers about how good this or that tablet is, how many cores it has, and how high their frequency is. Are these indicators really important, and which processor is better for a tablet?
Feature tour
In the description of the characteristics of processors, there are three main indicators:
- manufacturer;
- Number of Cores;
- processing frequency.
For regular user these characteristics look just like a bunch of letters and numbers that don't say anything, so the main focus is directly on quantitative indicators.
Manufacturer
There are some huge corporations that make quality processors. For example, we can cite such brands as Intel, Qualcomm, MediaTek, etc. They have been working in their field for many years and offer users really high-quality components that will last for a long time. But the same MediaTek mainly releases solutions for budget devices, while Intel and Qualcomm are installed on high-performance gadgets.
Number of Cores
This indicator in most cases is decisive for most users, since, supposedly, the final performance of the tablet will depend on it. This statement is partially true, but only for a separate line of devices. For example, a quad-core Android tablet will handle typical tasks faster than a similar device running the same OS but with two cores.
Also, everyone has heard about processors with eight cores, but here, as a rule, four of them are in a constantly active state, and additional ones start working to distribute the load when the main ones are at their peak frequency. When performing standard tasks, all the same cores will be active.
Speaking of architecture, one can draw a parallel between two devices such as Apple iPhone 6 and samsung galaxy S7 edge. These are two top smartphones, but the first one runs on a processor with only two cores, while the second one runs on an eight-core one.
In order not to go into technical details and comparisons, we can say that the number of cores only plays a role if the choice is between devices of the same architecture, for example, two Android tablets, and not between the brainchildren of Google and Apple.
CPU frequency
The last quantitative indicator, which is very important for users. Exclusively in all product descriptions, the maximum frequency at which the installed processor is capable of operating is indicated, while most tasks are performed at the minimum “revs”. For example, a Cortex A15 processor whose specified frequency is 1.7 GHz for mobile devices, operates at 1 GHz most of the time, and peak power is blocked by the manufacturer to reduce battery consumption.
When choosing any tablet, whether it is a device for games or for surfing the Internet, you should not focus on digital indicators. Decide what you want to use the device for, and only then delve into the technical details.
The tablet has turned from a fashionable electronic gadget into a valuable assistant for a student, businessman, young mother, freelancers. Thereby electronic device You can easily solve work issues, chat with relatives, friends and acquaintances via Skype, share vivid photos and play your favorite computer games. As you can see, the device has a lot of functions. However, they are difficult to implement without the support of a powerful processor.
We evaluate the processor
When choosing a tablet, it is important to evaluate not only appearance device, but also specifications:
- amount of RAM;
- screen resolution;
- operating system type.
From these indicators depends on how comfortable you will be working with an electronic gadget. However, all these characteristics fade without a high-quality, reliable and high-speed processor. The first thing to evaluate is:
- processor frequency;
- Number of Cores;
- processor model.
A couple of years ago, a tablet that had a single-core processor installed was considered a profitable and practical purchase. His work seemed reactive, and loading media files within 2-3 minutes did not cause irritation.
Today, user requests have increased significantly. They choose processors for tablets that have at least two cores to make watching movies in HD quality, launch computer games and communication in messengers faster. They are not satisfied with waiting 60 seconds for a web application and pages to load. The processor with four cores copes with such small tasks within 10-20 seconds. As a result, surfing the Web becomes enjoyable - not annoying or unnerving.
Also power CPU in a tablet is of no small importance for information processing. Agree, it’s not very pleasant to wait 5-6 minutes until a text document or video clip is loaded on the screen for 2 minutes. In this case, it is necessary to “overclock” the speed of the processor or “pump” its technical indicators. Programs for this are enough. For example, a cpu for a tablet. This application will provide maximum information about the electronic gadget and speed up the processor.
Number of cores in the processor
Many buyers are interested in the question: “What is the optimal number of cores for a tablet processor?”.
Experts are sure that the choice of this indicator directly depends on your goals in using an electronic gadget.
Let's say that you plan to work with text documents and occasionally run short videos. In this case, it is quite enough for you to choose a processor for a tablet with two cores.
It will provide fast loading text editors for writing articles, reviews and reviews, videos. A tablet of this type will also cope with the work in a browser in which only 2-3 tabs are open. But to run computer games or work with numerous tabs in the browser, you need a device with a more powerful processor. There is a possibility that a mini-computer with two nuclear processor simply will not pull virtual fun, and when loading numerous web pages, it will turn off and on automatically every time to save battery.
What is the best processor for gaming on a tablet?
They say that best option for fans of computer games - this is a tablet computer with a four-core processor. With it, you will quickly start large games and will not worry about the fact that the game will stop at the most interesting place or the electronic gadget will reboot for no reason. The game will give you the most vivid impressions and a carefree holiday. But the main thing is that you can run your favorite games anywhere and at any time: on the train, in mall or on the beach. By the way, there will be no problems with the choice of electronic gadgets in this format - they are produced by all the leading manufacturers of the world market.
How to test the processor?
Many users have doubts: is the tablet so good with multi-core processor, how do they write about it in magazines and tell experienced computer scientists? You can check this indicator when buying a device. In retail outlets, you can always download the game or play online. You will evaluate the speed of the electronic gadget, its capabilities and technical indicators.
More expensive, but better quality?
The number of cores in the processor affects the final cost of the device. Many buyers are put off by this aspect. But there is also the other side of the coin. The more cores in the processor, the faster it works and the more reliable it is. Judge for yourself: powerful processor processes large amounts of information, does not freeze and allows you to solve a complex of urgent cases in a short time.
Quality assurance
When buying a device, you get a quality guarantee for a period of one year. The processor is the first to signal that the electronic gadget is out of order - it starts to slow down, slowly loads text documents and video materials. As soon as you notice a malfunction, contact the master. By eliminating this small oversight, you will extend the life of the electronic gadget.
At the time of buying tablet computer carefully check the technical characteristics of the processor and its performance with an eye to our recommendations, and then the gadget will become your faithful assistant for many years to come!
To begin with, let's understand a little. As you know, processors are used in the most different devices– from computers to virtual glasses and photo frames. It would be neither logical nor rational to create a unique processor for each device. Therefore, one platform can be used in different devices.
The most popular platform of our time is ARM. It is also the name of the company that develops processors. She herself does not produce them, but simply sells licenses. Both little-known Chinese factories and global giants are engaged in manufacturing: Marvell, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, nVidia, etc.
The evolution of ARM is quite extensive and has a long history. The classification of processors itself can be of two types: classification by generation (ARM9, Cortex); architecture classification (ARMv6, ARMv7).
Naturally, the higher the platform class, the higher the processor performance will be. True, many tablet manufacturers, praising their product, do not quite honestly declare the real capabilities of their device. In order not to fall for beautiful packaging, you need to understand a little yourself at least in popular processors and know how to check performance.
Tablet processor performance: Video
How to test processor performance
To find out the performance of the processor, use special applications. For example: AnTuTu Benchmark, PassMark. Install the app from the App Store. Any adequate seller will not forbid you to do this. At the first launch, the application itself will ask you to do a test.
There are a lot of tests: a test of speed and multitasking of the processor and RAM, tests of graphics, I/O devices, etc. As a result, a report will be presented with a certain number of conventional units. For clarity, the application will build a rating of devices, where devices with the best performance will be above your device, and with lower ones, respectively, below. You can also look at the detailed report in your own gadget.
Tablet processor performance comparison
Let's take a look at the CPU performance rating by presenting the most popular models and some obsolete, but still present in the secondary markets. They are also found in inexpensive this moment tablets worth up to 3,000 rubles, here is their list.
VIA 8505
The operating frequency can reach 800MHz. This is a very weak processor. Its performance is only enough for reading books, listening to music and slow web surfing. Installed on gadgets with Android_1.6.
Rockchip 2808
The frequency also does not exceed 800 MHz. Performance is not much better, but you can already watch unconverted videos in HD quality.
Qualcomm MSM7227
The first CPU from the company that invented CDMA. The maximum frequency can reach only 600 MHz, but this is enough for watching HD videos and working in simple applications.
Marvell NS166
One of the first processors that started to work well with graphics. The operating frequency can reach 100MHz. It was implemented mainly on tablets running the second Android.
Rockchip 2918
The CPU that worked best with the Android operating system. Built on the Cortex A8 architecture, which made it possible to work in frequency range up to 1200 MHz. Differs in one of the best indicators battery life in any mode. At its penny cost, the processor supports Adobe Flash technology; Equipped with a video accelerator that allows you to play 3D games.
NEC Renesas EV2
The CPU is interesting in that at low power consumption it is able to process Full HD video almost perfectly. It turned out thanks to the dual-core Cortex A9 platform and the built-in 3D graphics core Mali 400.
NVidia Tegra 2-3
With the advent of this CPU, a new era began for mobile gadgets. In the third Tegra, 4 cores (Cortex A9) of the processor and (!) 12 graphics cores were installed. The entire Tegra series (up to the new Tegra 4) was created mainly for gaming tablets.
Modern CPUs:
Now let's look at the list of the most modern processors for tablets.Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
The CPU, made on the ARMv9 architecture, consists of 4 cores of 1890 MHz each, the Adreno 320 graphics core, and built-in 3G and GPS modules. Laid support USB interface 3.0 and cameras up to 21 Mpx. The AnTuTu rating gives devices on this processor up to 26,000 units.
Amlogic M802
So far, the processor is installed on only one tablet - Onda V975m, but it has a fairly good potential. 4 processor cores at 2 GHz and 8 graphics cores at 6090 MHz. The AnTuTu score is 30,000 units.
Mediatek MT6592
One of the most powerful modern CPUs. 8 cores at 2 GHz each and 4 graphics cores at 700 MHz. Antutu gives tablets up to 30,000 units. The CPU supports HDMI, GPS and 3G streams.
NVidia Tegra 4 line
NVIDIA's solution has exceeded all expectations. On the basis of the processor, games from home computer. Of course, not the latest, but ... It turned out to be realized due to the integrated GeForce ULP GPU video accelerator, which has 72 graphics cores. Processor cores 4, 1.8-2.3 GHz each.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 lineup
Quad-core Qualcomm CPUs run at up to 2.3 GHz. High-end graphics are achieved through the Adreno 330 video accelerator.
Apple A7 APL5698
CPU which is installed on iPad 4.1 and 4.2. Made on 64-bit ARMv8 architecture. The processor has only 2 cores at 1.4 GHz. The scores hover around 35,000 PassMark units, which is similar to AnTuTu Benchmark's 17,500 units. The graphics are achieved by the PowerVR G6430 video accelerator.
Apple A7 APL0698
It differs little from the previous processor. The main difference is the frequency - 1.2 GHz. Installed on iPad Mini 2 and iPhone 5s.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
This processor has the highest frequency, which is 2.5 GHz for each of the 4 cores. For graphics computing, Adreno 330 is integrated.
How to improve tablet performance
In order to improve performance, you can overclock the CPU. You should immediately understand that this is fraught with the failure of the gadget - forever. Therefore, everything must be done very carefully. So how to overclock a tablet? You will need to root, if you don't already have it, and download AnTuTu CPU Master (not Benchmark). Once all this is done, you can start.
After launching the application, immediately uncheck the "Apply at boot" checkbox so that the tablet can reboot normally if you accidentally or intentionally set the frequency too high. Otherwise, the tablet may not boot at all. Neither a reset nor a flashing will help.
Increase the frequency by no more than 10% of the rated frequency. Click the "Apply" button and experiment with the device. Play games, watch movies, etc. If everything is fine, you can increase the frequency a little more. If the tablet starts to glitch or reboots, you need to reduce the frequency.
Once you find the optimal frequency, then check the previously unchecked "Apply on reboot". After the reboot, the device will work constantly on increased frequency until you install another one. It is advisable to do the acceleration itself slowly and in stages. As practice has shown, a sharp increase in frequency often leads to device failure.
Publication date: 03/09/14